Those Who Remain

Eight - Liberation

Cash spit out a little blood as she gurgled warm water in the bathroom. She rolled her eyes. Her and Angel had been decent the last few weeks but he decided to pick a fight and bust her lip the day before her birthday party.

Her phone rang and she smiled to see Erica calling her.

"Hey almost birthday girl! Did you decide which outfit you wearing? I need to know how fly to be."

Cash rolled her eyes. "Apparently I gotta wear the jeans."

"You an orphan. You ain't gotta do shit."

Cash laughed. "B, you legit get on my nerves. He don't like the skirt. Said it's too short." Cash called her B which was short for Breezey. She said all her friends called her that. Cash wanted to be different so she usually just called her B.

"Oh wow," Breezy said. "But it's your birthday."

"He paying for the party."

"I guess...you still want this quick weave?"

"Yeah, come when you ready. I'll be here all day."

Sliding her phone in her back pocket, Cash left the room and went to the kitchen to make an ice pack. She didn't want her lip to be big for her party. Chris and Davon were in the kitchen.

"What was the fight for this time?" Chris asked. Cash ignored him.

"What's up, D?"

"What up, Young."

Cash smirked, pulling a zip lock bag out of the box on the table before going over to the freezer. "Your boo on her way over here."

Davon smirked. "You know that ain't my boo."

"Let you tell it."

Cash could tell that Breezey had a crush on Davon. When they'd first met, she was trying to con him out of some weed. Davon let her flirt and get real comfortable before he made her pay. Cash could tell she wasn't used to dudes saying no to her, for some reason that did it.

"Can't let nobody claim me, don't want my girls to get jealous."

"That sounds like something Andreas would say," Cash said, laughing. She sat down at the table and hissed while putting the ice pack to her lip. "Where is he anyway?"

Chris shrugged. "Missing in action as usual. Help us bag this."

Cash nodded, knowing she had a little time to kill before B got there. They all looked towards the basement stairs when they heard a voice.

"Can I come upstairs now!" Yani yelled.

"No!" Cash said. "But I'll be down there in a second when B gets here."

"With snacks?"

"With snacks."

"Okay!"

"That girl spoiled as hell," Chris said, laughing. "We literally just sent her down there 10 minutes ago."

Cash laughed. "She hates being told what to do."

The gang always sent Yani to her room whenever drugs were in the house. Yani hated being treated like a baby and told Cash that as often as she could. Cash felt bad for even having Yani living this way, so she tried to keep her away from as much as possible.

Cash was about to be 16 and although they had been managing for the last 3 years, she often felt guilty when it came to Yani. Angel thought it was best if Yani went to the children's home in the city. They kept girls there until they aged out of the system. The only issue was they hardly allowed visitors and Cash wasn't 100% sure they wouldn't put Yani into the system and ship her away.